BILL NUMBER: SB 858	CHAPTERED  10/10/99

	CHAPTER   906
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   OCTOBER 10, 1999
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR   OCTOBER 9, 1999
	PASSED THE SENATE   AUGUST 31, 1999
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY   AUGUST 26, 1999
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   AUGUST 16, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   MAY 20, 1999

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Hughes

                        FEBRUARY 25, 1999

   An act to add Section 12554 to the Welfare and Institutions Code,
relating to public social services, and making an appropriation
therefor.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 858, Hughes.  Guide, signal, and service dog food allowance.
   Existing law provides for the federal Supplemental Security Income
(SSI) program and the State Supplementary Program for the Aged,
Blind, and Disabled, under which, through a combination of federal
and state funds, qualified low-income aged, blind, and disabled
persons are provided with cash assistance.
   Existing law provides that recipients of these programs who have a
guide, signal, or service dog are eligible for a specified monthly
dog food allowance.
   This bill would also permit a recipient of federal social security
disability insurance benefits whose income and resources are not in
excess of the federal poverty level and who has a guide, signal, or
service dog to receive a dog food and other special need allowance of
$35 per month.
   This bill would appropriate $69,000 from the General Fund to the
State Department of Social Services for the implementation of this
act during the period commencing January 1, 2000, and ending June 30,
2000.
   Appropriation:  yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Section 12554 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
   12554.  (a) Notwithstanding Section 12552, special circumstances
shall also include the administration and payment by the department
pursuant to this section of a recurring special need allowance to
every eligible recipient who has a guide dog, signal dog, or other
service dog, to pay for dog food and other costs associated with the
dog's care and maintenance.
   (b) For purposes of this section, the special need allowance shall
be thirty-five dollars ($35) per month.
   (c) The department shall mail an application for the allowance to
each recipient of benefits under the federal Social Security
Disability Insurance (SSDI) program who is known to the department to
have a guide dog, signal dog, or other service dog, or who has
requested an application from the department, and who is a legal
resident of this state.  The application shall include a disclosure
of the applicant's resources and all sources and amounts of the
applicant's income.  The application shall be upon a standard form
prescribed by regulations of the department and containing a written
declaration that the affirmation is made under penalty of perjury
subject to prosecution as the crime of perjury under the Penal Code.
The recipient or, if the recipient is incapable, another person as
described in Section 11054 may make the affirmation.  In order to
establish eligibility pursuant to subdivision (e), the applicant
shall also be required to present a proof of income statement from
the federal Social Security Administration.  The department shall
grant the special need allowance upon the basis of the affirmation by
mailing a monthly warrant in the amount indicated in subdivision (b)
to the recipient.
   (d) The county welfare department shall cooperate in assisting the
recipient in completing his or her application for the special need
allowance authorized by this section.
   (e) For purposes of this section, "eligible recipient" means any
person legally residing in this state who is a recipient of benefits
under the federal Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)
program, provided for pursuant to Title II of the federal Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 401, et seq.) and whose income and
resources are not in excess of the federal poverty level.  For
purposes of determining eligibility under this section, income and
resources shall be defined in the same manner as those terms are used
in determining eligibility for aid under Chapter 3 (commencing with
Section 12000).
  SEC. 2.  There is hereby appropriated the sum of sixty nine
thousand dollars ($69,000) from the General Fund to the State
Department of Social Services for implementation of this act during
the period commencing January 1, 2000, and ending June 30, 2000.  Not
more than 10 percent of the funds appropriated pursuant to this
section shall be expended on administrative costs.
